and The Riddle of the Red Hat

In a September 18, 1970 letter to Donald Ault, Barks wrote: "Strange to say, I had completely forgotten the story. Reading it, I could see my drawing style in the artwork. My old pay vouchers prove that I did do the art, so I'll puff out my chest and brag that I did a pretty fair Mickey and Goofy."

In a June 9, 1966 letter to Michael Barrier, Barks wrote: "Mickey Mouse and Porky Pig I barely touched. They weren't my cup of tea." In another letter to Barrier, from February 20, 1970, he wrote: "About how I happened to do the Mickey and Porky series in 1944 and '45 - I was asked to do so by the office. I wouldn't have ventured into those characters' field by choice."

Looking carefully at Floyd Gottfredson / Merril de Maris' "Mickey Mouse in Love trouble" (Mickey Mouse dailies 14 April 1941 - 5 July 1941, reprinted in WDC 36 - 39), shows that Barks used this story as study for "Riddle of the Red Hat". Extensive comparison shows that some poses look alike, for example Minnie in panels 1.3 (5-22), more or less 1.6 (5-8), 1.7 (6-11) and 1.8 (4-25). Similar Mickey poses can be found in panels 1.4 (4-30) and more or less both 4.5 (4-25) and 4.7 (4-26).

The numbers right after the panel numbers refer to the dates as given on the dailies (e.g. 5-22 means May 22, 1941).

Barks submitted this story to Western on 27 April 1945.

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